Page 168 - The Arabian Gulf States_Neat

106 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
The Political Agent in Bahrain replied on 21 April 1958 saying
(inter alia) that:
Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom were prepared for­
mally to waive the provisions of the Agreements of I8S0 and 1892 in so
far as the Agreement between the Ruler and King Saud was concerned, and
that, so far as Her Majesty's Government were concerned, the Agreement
was thereupon given international validity.1

Multilateral treaties: accession to international agreements and partici­
pation in international organisations

(a) The general practice of the United Kingdom in respect of the
application of international agreements to territories for whose interna­
tional relations she is responsible
In so far as British treaty practice is concerned, it is recognised that
a treaty concluded by the United Kingdom might not be applicable ipso
facto in its overseas territories, and it was thought necessary to make express
provisions for the application of the treaty to all the Dominions and pos­
sessions of the contracting parties. . . .2
According to J. E. S. Fawcett, there are three possible ways by
which a treaty concluded by the United Kingdom can apply to her
overseas territories:
provisions for application ipso facto upon acceptance of the treaty by the
United Kingdom, provisions for some or all of the overseas territories to
become separate parties to the treaty and inclusion of the colonial applica­
tion clause.
But, in cases, he says, where
there is no express provision in the treaty itself, it becomes a question of
interpretation whether it is to be read as applicable to the overseas terri­
tories as well as to the United Kingdom.3
The present practice of the United Kingdom with regard to the con­
clusion of treaties for her overseas territories is in concurrence with
the adoption of the so-called ‘colonial’ clause.4
According to Fawcett, the function of the ‘colonial article’ has been
to bridge the gap between the dependent status of the overseas territories
in international law and their independence of the Government of the
1 Extract from a letter from Deputy Legal Adviser of the Foreign Office, 2 June
1958, published by E. Lautcrpacht, I.C.L.Q., 7 (1958), p. 519.
2 McNair, Treaties, p. 77. . . ,
3 Fawcett, J. E. S., Treaty Relations of British Overseas Territories , D. Y.l.L.,
26^For illustrations on this practice, see U.N.L.S., Treaties (1953), 123; McNair,
Treaties, p. 77.